Me and Romeo Ain't Never Been Friends
by Scarlet has Fantasy Issues
Summary: Paul finds love for the first time ever and she's trapped in a place that could leave her in more danger than either of them realizes...(rated for language and future chapters) Paul/OC
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hello! It's finally here you guys! My Paul/OC story! About damn time too, right? Well, this is a short chapter for the first one as I haven't been very inspired today. But it's something at least. This is mostly for Felicia as she has been looking forward to this for forever, so here you go, my dearest. And for everyone else, thank you for being so patient with me. So for now, enjoy.**

**OOOOOOOOO**

"Well, he's at it again," Faith commented, standing next to Iona and Dwayne on the boardwalk as they watched Paul mess around in the record shop. "This has got to be the ninth time this month."

"He must really like her," Iona agreed with a smile, leaning back against the railing. "And about time too."

Faith nodded and watched Paul dance around the record shop for a moment before glancing over at Dwayne. He'd been watching over her with Iona for a while now. David's orders were given to him to do that. With the new Masters in the area and Max becoming an issue again, David wasn't taking any chances with her getting caught in the mix. It annoyed her sometimes, even though she loved Dwayne and Iona. Hell, she loved her small family, but this whole watching over thing was getting to be a bit much. Even though she was scared of what could happen if some other vampire got a hold of her when David wasn't around.

"Do you think that he's going to try to make her part of the family?" Iona asked, earning Faith's attention once more. "Like we became part of the Lost Boys'?"

Faith shrugged. "I don't know. He doesn't even know her name yet. And he claims that he's a guy that doesn't settle for one girl."

"He'll change," Dwayne said, speaking for the first time in several minutes. "If he loves her."

The redhead smiled slightly. "That'd be something to look forward to."

"And then we'd have another Sister," Iona said, looking back at the record shop. "Marko could follow suit with his own girl. We'd have a complete family that Max couldn't touch. And then maybe we'd finally stand a chance against all of the new vampires in the area."

Faith's hand slid over her stomach and she closed her eyes as the scars burned. She could feel something pressing in closer to her, but she didn't know what it was. Or rather, who it was. She just knew that she didn't like it.

"Faith," Dwayne said, putting his hand on her arm. "Are you okay?"

"I'm…fine," Faith muttered, lying through her teeth.

"We need to get her away from here," Iona commented, causing Faith to open her eyes.

"No!" Faith exclaimed, shaking her head as she rubbed her stomach. "I don't want to leave the boardwalk! Paul is just getting situated in there and…I don't want to leave. Please, don't make me." She rubbed at her stomach again as the pain seared worse. "I can handle this…"

Iona and Dwayne shared a look over her head and Faith knew that they were communicating through their bond. She didn't share one with either of them as they didn't have a blood connection through Max. Iona pushed herself away from the railing.

"I'm getting David," she told Faith. "But we're not making you leave the boardwalk unless he wants you to."

Faith sighed and closed her eyes again. "Fine."

She felt Iona dart off into the crowd of the boardwalk and then Dwayne wrapped his arms around her, flattening her hand against her stomach to stop her from rubbing it. His touch relaxed her, but not by much.

"It's going to be all right," he promised her quietly, breathing softly in her ear. "I've got you, Faith. No one is going to touch you while I'm still alive. Just look over at Paul and watch him make an idiot of himself until David gets here."

Faith opened her eyes slowly and tried to forget about all of her problems while her wild blond brother fell in love for the first time.

OOOOOOOOO

Paul sang under his breath and bounced on his toes as he browsed through some records in the store that he'd been visiting a lot in the past month. He had come here before when he wanted to filch things, but now, there was someone here that kept him coming with more eagerness. And he still tried to steal things, just to see what would happen if he got caught by her. Because seeing her face was just priceless in his opinion.

"And that's the one that I need," Paul decided, popping a record from a pile. "To my jacket you go!"

Something tapped him on the shoulder and he grinned.

_Looks like I've been caught_, Paul thought, putting his tongue in his cheek as he slowly turned around to find the girl that he'd been bothering staring at him. _Ooh! A bat! I wonder what she intends to do with that thing._

The girl was a platinum blond dressed in tight jeans and a black shirt under a dark jacket and she had decent sized hoop earrings. Her dark eyes were currently narrowed at him and in her hands was a wooden bat which she was stroking like it was precious.

Paul tightened at the sight of her hands on the bat, wondering what it would be like to have her do that to him.

"Hello there, Beautiful," Paul said, smiling at her as he rocked back on his heels.

"I should have known it was you again," the girl said, frowning at him. "You've been in here so many times and you've already stolen three records from me and my boss. Well, you can't do it anymore, Blondie."

"Oh yeah?" Paul laughed. "What are you going to do about it? Beat me?"

"Maybe." She tapped him on the chest with the end of her bat. "Now, either put the record back or pay for it and leave."

Paul smiled and bowed, holding the record behind his back. "Whatever you wish, Beautiful."

The girl rolled her eyes. "I'd wish that you would leave."

"Can't do that. I like coming here and you guys need the service." Paul danced after her as she walked towards the front of the store, eyeing her shapely rear through the tight denim fabric. "You have a name, Beautiful?"

The girl jumped over the counter and set her bat down as she clicked a few buttons on the register. "Everyone has a name, Blondie. I just don't give mine to strangers."

"Well, let's fix that whole stranger thing," Paul said, leaning against the counter. "I'm Paul the Magnificent. Now your turn."

She fixed her dark gaze on him. "Nice try, but no."

Paul pouted. "Please? I want to know your name and call you it every time that I come in here."

"Fifteen ninety-five," the girl told him.

"That's not a name," Paul told her.

"It's the price for the record, Paul. I'm not giving you my name. Period."

Paul fished into his pocket for some money and eyed her with a frown. "I could find your name out some other way. I like bugging you. It's fun."

The girl gave him a look. "And I'm going to hit you with my bat if you try to do it again."

"Meanie." Paul held out a fifty. "Keep the change for yourself. Buy something nice."

The girl took the money and slid it into the register, counting out the change. She looked up as someone came out of the backroom.

"Hey Jessi!" the man called out, walking towards her and the Lost Boy. "We're almost out of the Billy Idol record that was released last week. I didn't think that would happen, but you know how popular he is lately."

Paul grinned and wiggled his eyebrows at the girl. "So, Jessi, is it?"

Color flooded her cheeks. "Toni! I did not want this guy to know my name!"

"Too late," Paul laughed. "Jessi, Jessi, Jessi!"

Toni smiled and held his hands up in surrender. "My bad."

Jessi sighed and raked a hand through her blonde hair before looking back at Paul. "Are we done now?" she asked, frowning at him. "I have things to do like kicking my boss' butt and I'd rather not have you around to see it, Paul."

Paul lifted an eyebrow at her. "I could hold him for you. That way you could get some decent punches in."

"Hey!" Toni protested.

"I can manage on my own." She pointed towards the door. "Now get out of here and kick your own ass on the way out."

Paul laughed. "All right Jessi. I'll see you around." He made a kissy face at her before scooping up his record and dancing over to the door. "I wish that I had Jessie's girl…"

His laughter died out when he heard the buzzing of his brother's voices in his head. Something was up and he didn't like it.

_What's going on? _Paul thought to his brother's.

_**Faith's freaking out on us**_**, **Dwayne told him. _**It's not good. Look.**_

Paul saw an image of Faith running away from David and the others, dashing across the beach. She wasn't looking back at them as they called out to her. She had one of her hands over her ears and the other on her stomach. And her shoes were off as she kicked up sand. Paul knew that this was bad if his Sister wasn't responding to her family or her mate.

_I'm coming for her_, Paul told them, darting out the door and pushing through the crowd.

_**She doesn't want you to come, Paul**_, Marko said and Paul could hear the pain in his voice. _**She said that she wanted you to stay on the boardwalk with that girl and try to make something happen before this went down.**_

_Well tough shit. My Faith is in trouble and I'm going to be there for her to make her laugh this off. Because that's what she needs. She needs me and I'm coming for her. Just make sure she's all right when I get there._

"I'm coming Faith," Paul said, running across the boardwalk.

OOOOOOOOOO

Jessi watched Paul dart off like there was suddenly something important that he needed to do and sighed in relief. She had wanted him to leave the moment that he had come into her record shop, but she hadn't been able to force him out. It would have been bad for business if she forced out every customer that annoyed her.

"You really need a boyfriend," Toni commented, leaning against the counter like Paul had moments before. "You're far too cranky to not need someone to blow off that steam."

"And you need to cool it," Jessi shot back, pocketing the money that Paul had told her to keep. "You know that Jack won't let me have a boyfriend that he doesn't approve of first. And with our creeper roommates, getting a boyfriend isn't on the top of my lists right now." She frowned. "I need my own place."

"You do," Toni agreed before looking at the door. "That boy seemed to really like you."

"He likes to bug me, that's all." Jessi crossed her arms over her chest and gave him a look. "He likes to steal from you. You're just lucky that I caught him tonight and almost took him out with my bat."

Toni laughed. "I'm glad that you did. But we've got to work on that bat thing. It's not nice to threaten people with bats, Jessi. It could hurt the business."

"Says the man that just told me that we sold out of the Billy Idol record."

"I did say that, didn't I?"

Jessi nodded and smiled slightly. "I bought one."

"Good." Toni's eyes gleamed as he looked at her. "You know, one day you could be selling your own records in my shop too."

Jessi shook her head at that. "I won't get that lucky. My singing isn't that great and I only play the guitar with my brother. He's in the band with the others. I don't stand a chance at making it big, Toni. I really don't."

"Not with that attitude." Toni straightened and glanced at the clock on the wall. "I know that Jack and his band is playing on the boardwalk again tonight. How about I let you off early to go and see them play for a bit? Won't that be nice of your old boss?"

"You'd really do that? For me?"

"Duh. I'm not a terrible boss, Jessi."

Jessi jumped forward and wrapped her arms around her boss. "You're the best boss, Toni!"

"I know I am." Toni patted her on the back. "Now get out of here and go see the band play. I'll see you tomorrow."

Jessi tucked her bat in the corner before darting out of the record shop. She hurried through the crowd until she found her way to the concert portion of the boardwalk and causally made her way through that crowd until she was near the front. Her eyes searched the stage as she listened to the music of the band playing and she smiled as she saw her big brother, Jack, playing his electric guitar and singing next to one of his roommates.

"Jack…" she whispered, swaying to the music.

Her brother's eyes turned out to the crowd and he smiled as his eyes landed on her. A wink was cast in her direction and he tossed his blond head as he played on his guitar. Jessi laughed at her brother's display and bounced on her feet, letting herself get lost in the music of Death's Kiss, his band.

**OOOOOOOOO**

**A/N: Short. Drama, drama, drama. I like drama apparently. And lots of it. I always do something with Faith and Dwayne at the beginning of these new stories, so there's that. And now there's something more going on. But there's a bit with Jessi and Paul now. I don't know when the next update will be, so please be patient. It could take a while because of issues that I'm having with life. But this will be an ongoing project. I can guarantee that. I have a plan for a Marko story after this one. Because that's fair, right? All Boys get a story. Please leave a review and I'll get back to you when I can. Thank you and much love! -Scarlet**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hello there, my lovelies! It's taken me a while to get this worked on and updated, but very, very busy I have been. Work and trying to get a different job because my current workplace is a nightmare. And there are other projects in place that I need to pay attention to and new projects keep popping up…You understand, right? Well, I have this update for you and it is still kind of short, but I tried. Almost three scenes in this one. Well, two and a bit. You'll see. I hope that you like it and thanks for the support so far. Enjoy, my dears!**

**OOOOOOOOOO**

Paul managed to catch up to his brothers and Sisters on the beach quickly and was relieved to see that Dwayne had managed to snag Faith before she could hurt herself. But he could tell just by the way that she was holding her body that he wasn't looking at his Sister. He was looking at that other personality that liked to pop up whenever things got a little too much for Faith too handle. And clearly, David was not happy about that.

"Adalyn, let Faith back out now," David ordered, pointing a finger at the redhead.

The redhead shook her head and crossed her arms over her chest, her Southern belle accent hanging heavily on her words, "_Faith's thinking things over right now, David. Why can't you let her be? Why can't I stay out?_"

"Because you don't belong out here!" David snapped, glaring at the redhead. "She does."

The redhead rolled her eyes. "_We're the same person, David._"

"You're not her, Adalyn," Dwayne said with more patience than Paul's older brother. "Faith is our Sister and you're dead."

"Please just let her out," Iona begged, putting her hand on Dwayne's arm. "The danger is past. We're all here."

"_That's not what she's thinking. That's not what I'm feeling right here."_ The redhead put a hand on her stomach where everyone knew that Faith had scars from a previous vampire encounter. "_David, she's scared._"

"Well, tell her to get the fuck out here and talk to me! I want to talk to her and not to you!" David grabbed the redhead by the arm, perhaps a little too tightly because she gasped. "Now, let her out, Adalyn!"

"Easy man," Paul said, moving forward. "That's not how we get Faith back and you know it."

David's ice blue eyes turned in Paul's direction and narrowed. "What are you doing here? Didn't we tell you that Faith wanted you to stay and bother the record shop girl?"

"Yeah well, my Sister needed me more than some hot chick did." Paul looked over at the redhead and smiled slightly. "Hey there, Adalyn."

"_Paul…_"

"You know you're not supposed to be out here, making a scene when we've got everything covered, don't you?" Paul asked, wagging his finger at her. "You're making trouble and that's a big no-no girlfriend. So why don't you let my favorite Sister out and take a breather? I'll make her laugh." He jerked his thumb over at Marko. "He'll give her a good one too."

The redhead's gray eyes flickered briefly in Marko's direction before looking back at Paul. "_Paul, she really doesn't like what's going on right now._"

"I know, babe, but like I said, we've got this covered. So, c'mon. Scat. Let my Faith back out into the present and don't let me see your face back out here for a while, okay, Princess?"

Paul watched as the redhead's eyes closed and her body relaxed for just a moment. When her body's manner shifted back into the more recognizable modern one of his Sister, he knew that Adalyn was gone and that Faith was back. Faith opened her eyes and blinked, looking up at Paul with guilt in her gray eyes.

"Paul…" she whispered, a frown tugging at her ruby lips.

"Hey Sis," he greeted, smiling widely. "Have a nice trip into Mind Land?"

Faith's lips twitched at the corner. "I – I don't know about that."

David moved past Paul and grabbed Faith by the shoulders. "Don't you ever do that again, Faith," he ordered, looking down at her. "You had us scared shitless."

Faith looked away from Paul and up at her mate. "David, I'm sorry, but I had to get away from there and I didn't exactly mean to run away from you." She shook her head and lowered her gaze. "Adalyn had to come out to give me a breather."

David let out a small growl and pulled her to him, wrapping his arms around her. "Fuck Faith, you don't have to be so scared that you have to let her out like that. I've got you. We've all got you. Don't you understand that?" He buried his face against her neck. "I'm not about to let Max or any other vampire get their hands on you."

"None of us are," Dwayne said softly, earning a mutter of agreement from the gathered family.

Faith wrapped her arms around David and sighed before looking over at the rest of the family. Her eyes were sad when she looked at their faces. "Guys, I'm sorry that this happened."

"Don't be," Iona told her with a small smile. "We're just glad that we caught up to you before something happened."

"But you might want to do something about your feet, Sis," Marko said, pointing down.

Faith glanced down at her feet and seemed to realize that they were bare. "Um…when did that happen?"

"About the same time that you decided to bolt," Dwayne commented, shaking his head.

"Shame on you, Faith," Paul chided, wagging his finger at her again. "Your feet are really going to abandon you this time. Neglecting them like this? Shame, shame, shame."

Faith smiled slightly at him. "Good thing I have spares back at home, huh?"

"Yep!" Paul agreed, nodding his blond head. "By the way, I got you a present!" He pulled the record out of his jacket. "A brand spanking new David Bowie record for you, my little Sis…because of that unhealthy fascination you have with him!"

David lifted his face away from Faith's neck and gave Paul an annoyed look. "Really? You're encouraging that? When she has me?"

"You can't sing to her like David Bowie can, Davie," Paul said, handing Faith the record. "She likes his tights. Don't you, Faith?"

Faith smiled and clutched her new record to her side, ignoring David's dark look. "Did you finally find out that record shop girl's name, Paul? Before this happened?"

Paul nodded. "Yep! It's Jessi and she threatened me with a bat this time…I think she likes me. But how could she not? Look at me! I'm drop dead sexy!"

Marko cooed and wagged his finger around his temple. Paul laughed and playfully punched his curly-haired brother on the shoulder.

"That's nice, Paul," Faith said, tilting her head to the side. "I hope that you get to know her better."

"I hope that she takes a crack at him with the bat," David muttered, earning an elbow to the stomach from Faith. "What? He fucking deserves it."

Paul laughed loudly. "I probably do! I'm gonna go back there again and again and again to see her…"

"I expect so," Faith said before looking at David. "David, can we go back home? Just me and you? I don't feel right being out here right now…not after what I did."

David nodded and slid his arm around his mate's waist. His blue gaze turned onto the Lost Boys and Iona. "You lot can stay out for a while longer, but stay out of trouble," he ordered. "I'll see you when the sun sets tomorrow."

Paul watched the leader of the Lost Boys escort his redheaded Sister away and bounced on the balls of his feet. He really wanted to chase after Faith and pull her into a dance like the good old days just to get a smile out of her because clearly, she needed something to pick her up. But David was just as good at that as he was. And maybe she needed some alone time with David after that little incident with Adalyn and whatever brought up that fit in the first place.

"I wish this didn't have to happen to her," Iona said, speaking what was on everyone's mind. "Whatever the hell Max and the other vampires are putting up, can't be good if David can't even keep her calm."

Paul glanced over at the gypsy dancer and watched Dwayne slide his arm around her waist. He liked his newest Sister, even tried to feel her up a couple times like he did with Faith, but he knew that she belonged with Dwayne. And she had a point, things were getting a bit out of control with Max and the other new Masters.

"We'll just have to keep an eye out," Dwayne softly said, glancing around at the group. "That's all we really can do right now."

"Unless we get permission to take the other vampires out," Marko commented, biting his thumbnail. His eyes turned in the direction of Paul. "So…a bat, huh?"

"Hell yeah!" Paul said with a proud smile. He felt himself tighten just thinking about it. "Ooh! I just want to see her face again! You should see her, Marko! She's hot!"

"That'd probably be a bad idea, Paul," Iona said, shaking her head as she leaned against Dwayne. "You're the one that's supposed to fall in love with her. Not Marko."

And just like that, Paul's mood was dampened a bit. "Seriously, Dancer? Me fall in love? With one girl? You're funny!" He gestured at himself. "I'm way too much for one girl to handle! I need like five girls for myself!" He laughed and elbowed Marko. "We both need a harem of girls, Marko buddy!"

Marko nodded in agreement. "Yeah we do!"

Dwayne and Iona shared a look, probably communicating through their shared bond. Dwayne shook his head and glanced over at Paul.

"We should get back to the boardwalk," he said softly. "Someone has to find Laddie."

Paul pouted. "Fine! But I'm not riding with him. Marko is."

Marko shook his head. "I rode with him last time. It's your turn."

"We'll figure that out when we get back to the boardwalk, you two," Iona muttered, turning and heading up the beach. "Idiots."

"We love you too, Sis!" Paul laughed, chasing after her.

OOOOOOOOO

Jessi waited rather impatiently as Jack climbed down the stairs that led off of the stage, his guitar case slung over his back. His blond hair was slightly messed up from all of the headbanging that he'd done, but it was still swept over his brow in that charming fashion that she'd come to associate with him. His blue eyes turned towards her as he walked over to her and he wrapped his arms around her, drawing her close to him, rather than pay attention to any of the groupies that called out to him.

"Hey Jessi," he said, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "How'd I do?"

"You were great," she told him. "From what I managed to catch at the end. I've never heard those two songs before. Something new, Jack?"

Jack nodded and smiled slightly. "Yeah. Just a couple. Nothing big though." He poked her in the side. "You've been playing too, Sis. I've heard you in your room during the day. Why didn't you tell me that you were trying to come up with some new lyrics? I could have helped."

"Because I didn't think that I should bother you when you were working on your own stuff," Jessi muttered, slipping her hands down his chest. "My crap is nowhere near as good." Her dark eyes turned towards his groupies as the rest of the band descended from the stage. "They really don't think so."

"The groupies or the band?" Jack asked, tilting his head to the side. "Because you know I don't really care about the opinions of either group. The band is a bunch of creeps and the groupies are just fans. You're my little sister. You should get encouraged."

"Uh-huh, sure." Jessi squirmed in his arms. "You say that now, but wait until you make it big by yourself. Then you'll forget all about little old me."

Jack shook his head and held onto her tighter. "We could break out together, Jessi. Me and you. And make it big without those losers."

"That'd be something."

Jessi could already picture a life without Jack and their creeper roommates. A life without Santa Carla and its nightmares.

_Without Paul_, Jessi thought before she could stop herself.

"Hey Jessi," someone said, popping up when she didn't want them to.

"Lester," Jessi grumbled, turning her dark gaze on one of her brother's roommates and bandmates. "What do you want now?"

Lester smirked and pushed his dark hair out of his face as if that would make him hotter. "I'm glad you came to see the show, Jessi," he crooned, eyeing her. "I didn't think that your boss would let you." He smirked at her. "Guess he knows how much you enjoy watching us on stage, right?"

Jessi tapped her brother's chest. "I enjoy seeing my brother on stage. I don't enjoy seeing you, Lester."

Lester's smirk seemed to grow and she hated it. "You keep telling yourself that, babe. But we know the truth." His eyes turned to the other two bandmates. "Don't we, boys?"

Erik and Phil nodded with their own deadly smirks.

"We'll see you two back home after we do a bit of hunting," Lester said, sending Jessi another look. "And Jessi, black does look good on you." He made a kissy face. "See you around, sweetheart, Jack."

Jessi suppressed a shiver as Lester led the rest of the band away and tried not to hurl a venomous response after him. Jack shook his head and wrapped his arms tighter around her.

"I hate him," Jessi told her big brother. "I hate all of them. The way that they undress me with their eyes and talk to me like that."

Jack looked down at her and sighed. "I know, Jessi. I hate how they talk to you too, but what can we do? Besides get our own place which we can't exactly afford to right now…But we're close. I almost have enough money to get us the hell out of Lester's place before he can think about offering us his bottle."

Jessi shook her head and frowned. "I don't want to drink from that, Jack. To become like him and the others…Nope. Not gonna happen."

"Right." He shifted her out of his arms and gripped her hand, continuing to ignore his groupies as he led her away from the concert portion of the boardwalk. "We're going to get the hell out of there before anything happens to either of us. I'm going to make damn sure that nothing happens to you. Mom and Dad made me promise to take care of you before they died and I'm not planning on letting them down."

"You haven't so far."

"Barely."

Jessi swung her hand with her brother's and looked out at the boardwalk. "We're going to be okay though. We'll get some money together and get out of Lester's place. Maybe we'll get out of Santa Carla completely and then things will change for the better."

Jack laughed. "Yeah. We'll become a famous duo and take the country by storm."

"That's not what I meant, Jack, and you know it." Jessi glanced over at her brother. "You're the one with the pure talent here. Dad said so."

"Dad also said that you had talent too, Sis. And I do too. So, one day, me and you, we're going to hit the big charts and make something of ourselves. Without Lester, Phil, and Erik messing with us." He swung their hands a bit more. "And that's a promise."

They lapsed into silence for a few moments, listening to the sounds of the boardwalk. Jessi reached up and brushed back a strand of her platinum blonde hair, wishing that her brother's words could happen sooner rather than later. That they could actually be possible.

"So, are you hungry?" Jack asked, looking over at her.

"A bit," Jessi admitted, turning her dark gaze up to him. "Didn't pack lunch today."

"Jessi!" Jack sighed, shaking his head. "C'mon, I'll feed you something. And next time, don't starve yourself or I'm gonna beat your ass."

Jessi laughed and slid her arm around her brother's waist. "I'd like to see you try, Jack."

Jack smiled and pressed another kiss to her temple. "Love you, kiddo."

OOOOOOOOO

Paul stood outside the hotel-cave, finishing off his last joint for the night. His eyes were turned towards the horizon, watching the sky lighten as dawn approached, but he could feel the thoughts of his brother's in his head. David was trying to keep his own shielded from the others as he paid attention to Faith, but Paul could pick up the leader's concern for his mate. Paul had half a mind to crash into their private chamber and mess around with his favorite Sister, just to get her spirits perked back up, but he knew better than that. David would kill him and he wasn't keen on dying when he had just figured out the name of that record shop girl.

_I need to see her again_, Paul told himself, taking a drag on his joint. _Even if she does threaten me with her bat or say that she doesn't want to see me…How can someone resist me and my charms? Ha! I'm a sexy beast and no girl can resist me! I have to go back there and get her to hang out with me…She might want to do it if I ask nicely enough. Or I could bother her again and again until she admits defeat and surrenders. That'd be fun too…_

He laughed out loud and tossed his blond head at the thought of Jessi's face if he did bother her to hanging out with him. It would be so cute to get her riled up like that. He could just picture it, clear as day and that would be perfect.

_I've got to do it_, Paul decided, nodding his head as he finished his joint. _I have to see her tomorrow night. On the boardwalk. As long as the others have my Sister covered, I can do this. Because I have to see her again._

Paul flicked his joint's end into the ocean below and smiled lazily out at the world. "I'm seeing you tomorrow, Jessi, because you are going to be my new favorite thing…"

**OOOOOOOOO**

**A/N: Not much interaction with Marko, I'm afraid. I do love him though, so I kind of feel bad for that. I tried to get all of the Boys in here, but I didn't manage. And I got more of Jessi's brother in here. So that's good. And I included something about their roommates, didn't I? Let me know what you thought about this, please. I love reviews – good, bad, and indifferent – because they are helpful or just interesting to read. And that's a fact because I have so many stories on here that have zero reviews on them, completely, and that's weird. You could check out my page and see that and you'd be like "Wow", I'm sure. I hope to get back here when I can, but I've got some new one-shots to write, chapters for other stories to get on, and other projects that need attention, plus an interview to prepare for. So, yep, I'm busy. Love you all and I thank you for coming back! See you around! -Scarlet**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Hello again, my lovelies. It's been way, way, way too long since I last updated this story and things have not been looking good for me, but I am trying to get back into myself again. So I've written a short update for this story. And I hope that you don't mind it being this short. I tried to get into it again, but my head got a bit stuck. Please bear with me and enjoy.**

**OOOOOOOOO**

Jessi hummed as she wandered through the house from the bathroom, fresh out of the shower and dressed for the day. This was the only time that she could do this in peace since her brother's bandmates were sleeping during the day and wouldn't try to do anything to her when she was in the shower or changing clothes. The daylight hours were the safest times for her to do anything naked and Jessi hated that fact, wishing that she could just feel safe in her own skin for more than fifteen minutes at any given moment.

_Soon_, Jessi promised herself, walking past her brother's room on the way to hers. _Soon, we'll be out of here and we'll be in our own place far away from this Hellhole and they'll never both us again. I'll be free to wear what I want without Lester's pervy comments and his leers. As if I need those or accept them in the first place. Ugh! He is such a creep._

Jessi paused outside her room and stared at the cross that dominated the door. She had had to put up crosses on her door and her bedroom window. There were some on her walls to, just as a precaution and they did their job well.

Shaking her head, the blonde moved into her room and closed the door most of the way. Her notebook was still lying on her bed and Jessi bounded over to it. Plopping lightly down onto the purple sheets, Jessi scooped up the notebook and her pencil and looked at the words that she had scrawled down on the white sheets.

Soft words passed through her lips as she followed the words and tried to imagine singing them in front of a crowd of people. Shaking her head every now and then, Jessi scratched out a word or two and changed them. She lifted her voice at points and flipped through the pages, trying to figure out what exactly she had intended to do with these lyrics in the first place.

"Oh, what's the point?" Jessi muttered, dropping the notebook onto the bed and falling back against the pillows.

"I thought they sounded pretty good," Jack's voice floated from her doorway, spooking her.

Jessi's dark eyes lifted to meet his blue ones and she saw that her big brother was standing in her doorway with his hands braced on either side of it. His blond hair was still tousled from sleep and his fit chest was bare, but he was smiling as he looked at her. Jessi rolled her eyes and nudged her notebook with her foot.

"Those aren't that great," Jessi said, hugging her stomach.

"Jessi," Jack sighed, stepping into the room. "I think you're looking at this the wrong way. Where's your guitar?"

Jessi pointed at the corner of her room where her purple guitar sat and Jack grabbed it before walking over to the bed. He plopped down next to her and settled the guitar on his lap. Jessi watched him tune it for a moment before he grabbed her notebook and tossed it to her.

"Pick one," he ordered, giving her a small smile. "And start singing."

Jessi caught the notebook and frowned. "I don't wanna."

"Jessi, sing."

The blonde sighed and flipped through the book, searching the words. She straightened her spine and looked over at her brother. Jack gave her a look as he put his fingers to the strings of her guitar, waiting for her. Jessi sighed again and looked back at her notebook and started singing softly. As Jack listened, his fingers started playing on the guitar and Jessi leaned forward, lowering her notebook since she really didn't need it. Jack smiled and mouthed "little louder" after a few seconds at her and Jessi lifted her voice a bit. It wasn't like the others were going to wake up and stop them from doing this. They hadn't before.

Jessi wrapped her arms around her legs and let her voice trail off as the song ended and Jack stilled his fingers on the guitar strings, letting the notes fade on their own. His blue eyes held hers for a moment and then he smirked at her.

"And you said that they weren't that great," he teased, tilting his head to the side. "What a load of bullshit, Sis."

"Okay, one, they aren't that great," Jessi said, tossing her notebook aside. "And two, you're only saying that they are because you're my big brother, Jack."

Jack rolled his eyes as he set the guitar down. "Yeah, well this big brother is about to do something to you."

"What?" Jessi asked, lifting an eyebrow before squeaking as Jack pounced on her and started tickling her. "No! Jack, no! Stop! Stop!"

Jack laughed and continued tickling the girl, letting her twist and squirm under him. Jessi let out a small growl after a few minutes and wrapped her hand around the back of his neck. She flipped him onto his back and pinned him under her, sitting on his stomach and held his hands over his head. Jack laughed as she stared down at him.

"No freaking tickling," Jessi grumbled, glaring down at him. "You know I _hate _it when you do that."

Jack quirked up an eyebrow at her and then stuck his tongue out at her. Jessi snapped her teeth at him before smirking. Jack laughed again and looked up at her, wiggling his fingers.

"I still say that you have some pretty great talent, Jessi," Jack told her with a small smile. "You just have to keep practicing and actually believe in yourself for once." He gestured with his eyes towards the door. "Don't let those creeps make you think that you're not any good because you're great. If I could have put you into Death's Kiss, I would have done it."

"Sure, you would have," Jessi said, squeezing his wrists as she sank further onto his stomach.

"Jessi, I really would have if I could trust Lester and the others to keep their slimy hands off of you," Jack insisted, giving her a look that she knew was sincere and she saw the pain in his eyes. "It's bad enough that I can't keep them from hitting on you whenever they're offstage or in the house, but to think that they could do it all the time? I couldn't do that to you, Sis. I'm not that kind of brother."

"You're the best brother, Jack," Jessi told him, leaning over and pressing a kiss to his forehead. "And you're doing a damn good job of taking care of me. Mom and Dad would be proud of you." She gave him a small smile as she settled back on his stomach. "You seriously need to stop trying to tickle me though. You always end up pinned."

Jack's eyes glinted and a slow smirk crossed his lips as his fingers curled. "Well, Jessi, maybe that needs to change."

"Not on your life."

"Too late."

Jessi cried out as Jack used his legs to pull her off of him and pinned her under his body again. "Jack! That is not fair!" she exclaimed, looking up at him as he pinned her under his body. "You are so getting your ass kicked for this one!"

"After you admit that you're a great singer, that I'm the best brother in the world, and I feed you breakfast since I know you haven't eaten again," Jack said, smirking down at her as he gripped her wrists in his hands. "You have a very bad habit of doing that, Sis."

"Sue me," Jessi grumbled before rolling her eyes. "Fine. You're the best brother in the entire world. Now feed me."

"You're forgetting something," Jack said, tightening his grip slightly. "I want to hear you say those words, Jessi."

Jessi glared up at him. "Why?"

"Say them."

"I'm a great singer," Jessi mumbled. "There, happy?"

Jack nodded and released her wrists as he jumped onto his feet on the bed. "That'll do for now, but one day I'm going to make you say them a lot louder. With feeling. Because I want you to actually believe in yourself, Jessi." He jumped from the bed. "Since I believe in you, you should believe in yourself, Sis."

The blonde rolled off the bed and landed lightly on her feet. "I'll do it in my own time, okay?" She jumped onto his back and rested her chin on his shoulder, brushing his hair out of her face. "Now, what was this about feeding me? I want some of your famous flapjacks, Jack."

Jack laughed and wrapped his arms around her legs. "Coming right up."

OOOOOOOOO

Paul bounded out of the sleeping chamber and stopped when he saw something that he liked. Tilting his head to the side, Paul stared for a moment and put his tongue in his cheek before speaking.

"Your ass never fails to look good in those jeans, Faith," Paul laughed, bouncing on his toes as he watched Faith slide into a new pair of shoes.

Faith twisted around and gave him a small smile. "You'd better not let David hear you say that, Paul." She flicked her hair over her shoulder as she put her hands on her hips. "He'd kick your sexy little butt for that one."

Paul tossed his hair and moved closer. "I ain't scared, Sis. He can try all he wants. I'm still gonna comment on a good ass when I see one." He tapped her on the nose. "How are you feeling tonight, Faith? You feeling good?"

Faith snapped her teeth at him and then nodded. "Yeah, I feel a bit better than I did yesterday. Thanks to you and David." She slid her arms around him and pressed her cheek against his chest. "Paul, thanks for getting me out of Adalyn and making me laugh again. I knew I could count on you to make me feel better."

The wild blond wrapped his arms around Faith and squeezed her tightly. He really did love this crazy redhead like an adorable little sister. And it killed him every single time that she had to go into her head and let David's murdered love out for a spell, but at least she always came back to them. And hey, he'd brought her back this time. That was something, right?

"Anytime Faith," Paul promised, pressing a loud kiss to her hair. "I've got your back, your mind, and your ass. Just say that word and your favorite wild brother will be there to make a good joke to save the day, all right? I'll even give you a good pat on the butt too."

Faith jumped back before he could actually touch her butt and she stuck her tongue out at him. "You are so going to get in trouble with David if you keep this up," she warned with a smile. She gestured to the front of the hotel-cave. "You better make a break for the record shop if you want to survive the night, Paul."

Paul bowed at the waist. "Okay, okay. I know when I'm not wanted." He bounded forward and pressed another loud kiss to her forehead before darting towards the entrance to the hotel-cave. _I'm coming for you, Jessi…_

The ride to the boardwalk was a blur, but maybe that was because Paul had taken it so many times before or since he had driven his motorcycle as fast as he could. The Lost Boy darted through the crowd and then slowed down as he came within sight of the record shop. He laughed to himself at thought of seeing the look on Jessi's face when he showed up yet again in her record shop just to bug her. But how could he help himself? She was just too yummy.

"Here I come," Paul sang, skipping towards the record shop and opening the door. "Jessi!"

Jessi was sitting on the counter with her bat on her lap, one leg swinging back and forth against the wood. Her dark eyes turned towards the door as it closed behind Paul and she rolled them as she met his gaze. Paul noticed how her hands tightened on the bat.

"Paul, what the hell are you doing here?" she asked, tilting her head to the side. "Didn't you steal enough from Toni already?"

Paul shook his head and moved closer. "I didn't come to steal from Toni this time, Jessi." He grinned. "Okay, maybe I did, but not his records. I plan on stealing something else."

Jessi's eyes darted in the direction of the register and her hands tightened on the bat even more. "Paul…"

_Ooh, she thinks I wanna play that game, huh? _Paul thought, his smile growing as he pressed in closer to the blonde. _In my past maybe, but I wanna play something else…_

"Relax Jessi," Paul said, earning her attention once. "I didn't come to rob the till. I came to steal you from Toni for a bit. I'm sure that the old boy won't mind."

Jessi reached out with her bat and poked him with the blunt end. "I mind. And I don't want to be stolen by you, Paul."

"Oh, c'mon, Jessi," Paul whined, giving her a pouty face. "I wanna play with you and take you all over the boardwalk." He pressed closer to her and let the bat dig into his chest a bit. "I probably won't take no for an answer, Beautiful."

"Probably won't or won't?"

Paul smiled. "Won't."

Jessi jerked her head in the direction of the door. "Get outta here, Paul. I don't wanna play with you today. I have a job to do."

"I bet I can get you out of this job tonight," Paul said, putting his hands on his hips.

The blonde girl shook her head. "I don't think so."

Paul laughed and then put his hands around his mouth. "Hey Toni! Toni!"

Jessi's boss came strolling out of the backroom, cursing at the noise, but his eyebrows rose in surprise when he saw Paul. A slow smile stretched across his face when Toni approached the Lost Boy. He crossed his arms over his narrow chest and tilted his head to the side so that his one earring gleamed.

"You came back, Paul," he commented.

"Yep and I need you to let this chica go for the night," Paul said, gesturing at Jessi who looked annoyed. "I wanna take her out for a night of fun and she can't do that if she's slaving away here with her bat, threatening people."

"Can I hit him?" Jessi asked, shifting her bat in her lap. "Just a dozen times or so?"

Toni shook his head and looked back at Paul. "You promise to keep her safe, Paul? I kind of need her to run this place since she's the best employee that I have. Bat and all."

Paul nodded his head. "Yeah, I got her."  
"Then she's yours for the night," Toni said with a wide smile. "Jessi, you're off the clock."

"What?!" Jessi exclaimed, looking at her boss. "Toni, you can't be serious!"

"I am," Toni told her. "Now, c'mon. Get off the counter, drop the bat, and get out of here. I don't want to see you until tomorrow afternoon."

Paul put his tongue in his cheek as Jessi grumbled and jumped from the counter. She smacked him lightly with the bat and then chucked it into a corner. The wild Lost Boy laughed as he followed her towards the door and eyed her shapely rear through the denim of her jeans.

_Ooh, this is going to be so much fun!_

**OOOOOOOOO**

**A/N: Told you it was a bit short. I really did get a bit stuck and I just wanted to get something out while was in a writing mode. I will attempt to write more like I usually do with the next update, but I can't really make promises at this point. I do hope that you will leave a review or two in the little box to let me know what you think of this story so far. I will try to come back when I can and hopefully my Paul Muse won't fade away like so many of my other Muses have a nasty habit of doing. Thank you and have a pleasant day! -Scarlet**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Hello loves. It's been far too long since I last updated this story and I have regrets about this, but I've been lacking motivation to do absolutely anything and everything I have been doing is forced or takes all my energy. I did manage to type up a slightly longer chapter for this update than the last ones and I hope you enjoy it. So without further ado, here it is. **

**OOOOOOOOO**

Jessi huffed as she walked with Paul through the crowds on the boardwalk and brushed back a strand of her platinum blonde hair that had fallen in her face. "You're awfully excited for a guy, who's dangerously close to getting his ass abandoned on the boardwalk…or kicked," she commented, giving him a look as he jumped along.

Paul laughed and tossed his blond mane of hair. "Jessi, beautiful, I am excited! I got you all to myself for the rest of the night! A whole damn night!" He howled and spun around, his jacket flapping around his waist. "Woo! Date night!"

"Hold up," Jessi said, shaking her head. "This isn't a date."

"Yes, it is," Paul said, putting his tongue in his cheek.

"No, it's not."

"Oh, yeah it is."

"Paul!"

Paul leaned into her slightly. "You're even hotter when you're angry," he crooned with a large grin.

"You're annoying when you're annoying," Jessi said, pushing him back.

Paul laughed again and slid his arm around her shoulders. "C'mon Jessi, lighten up. I'm not such a bad guy. I'm fun and hot and loveable and cool and hot."

Jessi smiled. "You said hot twice."

"Did I now?"

"You're weird, Paul. You forgot that."

Paul put a hand to his chest and let out a gasp. "Ooh! Right in the heart! She wounds me and my pride, just like my Sisters do every time. And she does it so soon." He laughed. "You remind me of my Sister, Faith, a bit, but you're different. A good different."

"You've got sisters?" Jessi asked, looking up at him as they walked.

"And Brothers," Paul told her with a grin. "The Lost Boys and Faith and Iona. I gotta keep my hands off the girls or David and Dwayne will kill me, but it's fine. I can handle looking at them. For the most part."

Jessi rolled her eyes. "You're back to the weird again, Horn Dog."

"What about you, Beautiful? You got family?" Paul asked, bouncing on his feet. "Other beautiful sisters that I can stare at and drool over?"

"My parents died as a result of a car accident when I was thirteen," Jessi told the Lost Boy, shaking her head at the memory. "I just have my older brother, Jack, now and we live with his bandmates, though I wish we didn't. They're such creeps."

"Your brother is in a band?" Paul asked, turning his head slightly to look at her.

"Death's Kiss, a rock band? Haven't you ever heard them play?"

Paul scratched his cheek. "I may have heard them play a few times. Is he the blond up front that looks pretty good and has the eyes of all the girls for the most part?"

"That's my brother. He's the lead singer and he's the best member of Death's Kiss, the one that created it in the first place." Jessi looked down at her feet. "He wanted me to be a part of it, but after the Lester and the other two started talking to me the way that they do, he decided that it wasn't safe for me to be a part of the group."

"So they hit on you?"

"In a creepy, non-welcome, worse than you do kind of way, yeah." Jessi shivered at the memory of what she had found out Lester and the band were. "I don't see why I even stay there."

OOOOOOOOO

Paul watched the demeanor of Jessi change as she talked about Death's Kiss and the other bandmates of her brother's. He had seen them and he had a feeling that he knew what they were besides her brother, but without getting close enough to them, he couldn't be sure. That concert portion of the boardwalk wasn't Max's turf and they only had visiting privileges at points. It had something to do with Faith and her desire to see music and Max allowing her to see things as regards to other Masters.

_Gotta do something_, Paul decided, smiling as he rubbed his fingers against her shoulder.

"So, if Jack wanted you to be part of his band, that must mean you sing, right?" Paul asked, putting his tongue in his cheek again.

"And play guitar, why?"

"You wanna sing something for me?"

"No," Jessi said stubbornly, crossing her arms and looking away. Her stomach growled lowly and she frowned. "Oh hush…"

Paul laughed. "I see there's a monster in your belly! Don't tell me Toni never lets you off for food breaks?"

"I didn't pack lunch," Jessi mumbled, still not looking at him.

"Girlfriend, you gotta eat." Paul steered her in the direction of the entrance to the boardwalk and his motorcycle. "I can't have you wasting away on me before I get the chance to do anything with you."

"This is a one time thing, Paul," Jessi told him, watching him mount his motorcycle. "Wow, nice bike."

"She rides real well too." _Bet you would too one day…_Paul couldn't help but think and had to tell himself to cool it down. "And this isn't a one time thing, Beautiful. This is just Night One of many more to come." He held his hand out to her. "Now let's get some grub in you. I'm thinking pizza with the good toppings and large sodas."

Jessi uncrossed her arms and took his hand, letting him help her onto the back of his motorcycle. She slid her arms around his middle and rested her chin on his shoulder, something that he wasn't used to, but would if he could do it with her again and again. Paul kicked his motorcycle into life and tore off into the night, speeding into town. Jessi's grip tightened on him for a brief moment and he wondered if she had closed her eyes when he kicked up the speed.

"Chickening on me, Beautiful?" Paul called out over the roar of his engine.

"In your dreams, Blondie," Jessi purred in his ear. "I love going fast."

"Oh, you do?" Paul smirked. "Then hold on, Beautiful!"

Paul accelerated the motorcycle and tore off faster into the night, earning a laugh from Jessi. He loved hearing her laugh in his ear and his undead heart fluttered in his chest as if trying to beat for the first time in decades. Paul was almost disappointed when the pizza joint came into sight and he had to pull his motorcycle to a stop in the parking lot, killing the engine. Jessi laughed breathlessly in his ear and patted him on the stomach.

"That was fun," she said, leaning her cheek against the side of his neck before seeming to realize what she was doing and pulling away.

"The fun is always coming with me," Paul promised, swinging himself off the bike and then offering her a hand off. "You get me with Marko and then there's double the fun. All of us Boys are fun. Except for Laddie, who can be a whiny kid, but I digress." He slid his arm around her shoulders again when she was standing. "You want some extra cheese on your pizza or what?"  
Jessi rolled her eyes. "What kind of person doesn't want extra cheese or pepperoni on their pizza?"

Paul laughed. "A crazy person!" He whistled as he led her into the restaurant. "Oi, Libby! Booth for two!"

OOOOOOOOO

Jessi tossed down the pizza crust to her third slice of pizza and listened to Paul recount a tale of himself and one of his Brothers getting chased through the boardwalk by security. Apparently, they were always causing trouble and getting on the nerves of the security team there.

_I sure know how to attract the attention of the bad boys_, Jessi thought, brushing back a strand of her blonde hair. _Only he seems more like the harmless, prankster variety and Lester and his gang are the actual bad guys…Why do I keep thinking about those creeps when I'm having a decent time right now?_

She let out a laugh when she noticed a piece of cheese dangling from Paul's lips and when he arched an eyebrow, she tapped her lips. "You got a little something right there," she commented with a smile.

Paul grinned and licked his lips, catching that piece of cheese. "Got it, right?"

"Yeah." Jessi sipped her drink and looked out at the restaurant. "There's a lot of couples here, Paul."

"Perfect place for a date night." He nudged her. "Told you this was date night."

"This isn't a date."

"Is so," Paul said with a laugh.

"Nope."

"Yep." He tossed back the last piece of his crust and chewed. "I say it is."

"No."

"You're so beautiful when you're stubborn," Paul told her with a large grin on his face as he leaned into her.

Jessi put her hand on his face and shoved him back, causing him to fall on the floor. "You're so weird. I'm not beautiful."

"You're beautiful," Paul said with a grin as he popped back onto his feet. "And I don't just say it to anyone. I don't just chase the girls like this for no reason." He put his hand under his jacket and made a thumping sound. "Girl, you slay me with more than just your looks."

Jessi rolled her eyes as he slapped some money down. "Weirdo."

"Yeah, well, this weirdo is about to steal something from you and run," Paul said, moving forward.

"What?" Jessi asked, alarmed.

Paul's hand darted forward and scooped her jacket off the back of the booth behind her. Jessi reached out to grab it from him, but the Lost Boy danced back out of reach, holding it over his head. Jessi slid to the edge of the booth and glared at him, dark eyes flashing.

"Paul, give me my jacket, you asshole," she ordered.

Paul put his tongue in his cheek. "Catch me if you can."

The Lost Boy turned and bolted out of the restaurant. Jessi let out a huff and took off after him, looking up when she realized that it was starting to rain.

_Perfect, _she thought, blinking against the drops of rain that fell in her face.

OOOOOOOOO

Paul laughed as he jumped in the puddles around his bike and held Jessi's jacket in his left hand. He didn't honestly expect her to run out in the rain after him, but suddenly he was being tackled to the ground and the blonde beauty was straddling him. Paul laughed and looked up at her as she sat on his stomach and glared down at him, reaching for her jacket, which he somehow managed to keep out of her reach.

"Hey there, Beautiful," Paul crooned, smiling up at her.

Jessi reached for her jacket. "Give me that, Paul. Now."

"Nah, you look pretty good without it," Paul said, shaking his head. He shifted his body under her and squeezed her hip with one hand. "You like pinning all the boys?"

"I was born to kick ass like yours," Jessi said simply, still trying to get her jacket. "Now give me, give me."

"Nope." Paul tossed her jacket onto his bike. "See ya jacket. Me and Jessi need to fight this over." He grabbed her wrist and held her in place as she tried to go after her jacket. "Stay, girl."

"I'm not a dog, Paul."

"Nah, you're a beautiful girl, with a stubborn personality," Paul laughed, squeezing her hip again. "I like it." He pulled on her wrist and caused her to lean farther over him until their noses almost touched. "Absolutely adorable in this rain, you are, Jessi."

Jessi's dark eyes stared into his and she frowned at him, holding her breath. Paul grinned at her and thought about stealing a kiss, but heard the whine of a police car approaching.

_Damn_, he thought, slowly sitting up and looking around.

"Looks like we gotta run," Paul told Jessi as he hoisted her to her feet and squeezed her hips in his large hands.

"What trouble did you get into tonight already?" Jessi asked, looking up at him.

"That's a story for later, Beautiful," Paul laughed with a large grin. He helped her onto his bike and then climbed on himself before tearing out of there. "So let's go get ice cream and head somewhere safe."

OOOOOOOOO

Jessi was almost disappointed when Paul pulled up to the street where she was supposed to meet her brother that night and climbed off the motorcycle with her. It was still raining and they were both pretty much soaked, but she didn't mind. She looked up at Paul as the Lost Boy stood close to her, still bouncing with energy.

"Do you ever calm down for a moment?" she asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Not really," Paul laughed. "I'm high on life and all the good things." He spun around on his heel. "Woo! Life!"

Jessi laughed. "You're crazy, Paul."

Paul grinned at her. "You need to laugh more, Jessi. It sounds amazing coming from you."

Heat hit Jessi's face and she cast her eyes down at his chest. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Hey," Paul said, touching her chin and tilting her face back up. "Take a compliment, Beautiful. You're going to get a bunch from me. Because I'm going to be that annoying jerk that you're going to grow to like a lot. You'll see." He tucked back a wet strand of her hair and looked into her eyes. "This was a perfect date night, huh? You even got to pin me."

"Yeah, yeah I did." Jessi smiled at him.

Paul laughed at that. "Ha! I got you to admit that it was a date! Woo! I win! I went on a date with the Jessi!"

Jessi uncrossed her arms and smacked him on the chest. "Back to being weird again, Paul. Get out of here."

The Lost Boy grinned and looked at her. "All right, I'll go, but only because it's getting late and someone needs her rest before her big brother comes after my sexy ass." He pressed a loud kiss to her forehead before backing towards his bike. "See ya around, Jessi."

Jessi stared after him, surprised by his actions. "Bye Paul."

"Stay beautiful, Beautiful!" Paul howled as he sped past her and faded into the night.

Jessi smiled at that and shook her head, standing there in the rain and thinking for a moment that maybe Santa Carla wasn't so bad after all.

**OOOOOOOOO**

**A/N: Not much longer, but more things happened in here than the last ones. And I'm still struggling with things, but I'm getting there. Let me know what you think. Have a Happy Holiday season and Merry Christmas! Much love and puppies and Lost Boys all around. Thank you all! -Scarlet**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Hello loves. It's been so many months since I last updated this story and I can never promise that I'll update regularly anymore. Things are rough for me lately and I'm trying to get back into writing slowly. For now, I give you what updates I can, when I can. Please enjoy.**

**OOOOOOOOOO**

Jessi walked out of her room, running a hand through her hair and headed down the hall the next evening still feeling good from the evening before. She made it as far as the living room before the good feelings were smothered by the smell of Phil and Erik's joints and coughed. They always got the worst kind, that stupid cheap shit even though they could at least afford to get better. The blonde lifted her dark eyes to them and narrowed them into slits as she realized that they were stoned and still checking her out.

_Like they would ever stand a chance_, Jessi thought, rolling her eyes as she moved for her jacket.

"Someone looks especially hot tonight," Lester commented from his perch on the chair next to where her jacket had been unceremoniously tossed when she had come home. "Any particular reason, Jessi?"

"Fuck off, Lester," Jessi said, reaching for her jacket.

"Only if you're in the mood to do the same," Lester shot back, watching her every move. "I could show you a thing or two."

"Not interested."

"You haven't even given me a chance…live a little," Lester purred, his voice almost hypnotic. "You know you wanna."

Jessi stared at him with a blank expression on his face and saw the yellow tint in his eyes. The one that always reminded her of the danger that she and Jack were in when they moved in with Lester and the other bandmates. They needed to get out and get out fast, but money was tight and finding a new place was hard.

"Lester, enough, man," Jack said, coming into the room, dressed for the night. "You promised none of that supernatural shit on either of us. And I really fucking hate it when you talk to her like that."

Lester smirked at Jack. "I was only playing with the little princess." His dark eyes flitted back onto Jessi as she pulled her hair out of the collar of her jacket. "I smelled another man on your last night. Did you have company for once?"

"I hung out with a guy, but that's none of your business, Lester." Jessi crossed her arms. "He's just some guy that likes to bother me and we didn't do anything. But again, none of your fucking business."

Phil and Erik laughed. Jessi moved closer to Jack and pressed her hand against his arm. She would have said something to him, but she didn't want to speak with the creeps in the house. Her eyes swept the room once more.

"I'm heading out," she announced. "Have fun at the concert. Or whatever. Knock 'em out, Jack."

"Did you pack lunch?" Jack asked, looking down at her.

"I'll get something at the boardwalk," Jessi told him. She shoved a hand in her pocket and headed towards the door. "Bye."

As she stepped out into the night, Jessi took a deep breath and let it out in a low curse. She hated leaving Jack with those losers. She hated being with those creeps, but leaving her brother with them felt like she was abandoning him to be slaughtered. She never knew if she would see him again when she walked out of the house for the night.

_God, keep him safe_, she thought to the Cosmos before heading down the street in the direction of the distant boardwalk.

OOOOOOOOOOO

Paul danced around the entrance to the boardwalk where his family were parked and sang a song under his breath as he polished off a joint. Faith was humming under her breath and leaning against David, her hand stroking the back of David's neck absently while she looked out into the distance, clearly not paying attention to anything that David was saying to the group. Not that Paul was paying as much attention as he should either. His thoughts kept roaming around to Jessi and wondering what was up with his Sister and where he was going to score his next load of weed. He glanced over at Iona and saw her watching Faith, her hand tight on Dwayne's hand.

_Dude, she's going to break your hand if she keeps that up, _Paul thought with a mental laugh in the direction of his dark-haired brother.

_**I've got this covered…You should pay attention to your surroundings. That's what David is so concerned about. He knows there are other vampires around tonight because Max lifted his territory boundaries tonight to give the Masters a chance to talk to him. The others are just scoping out the territory for them. And Faith…**_

_We got her back. No problem. _Paul nodded his wild blond head and tuned his brother out.

His eyes turned back to Faith as he dropped his joint's butt and she shifted her shoulders. Paul knew that she was getting anxious to move away from the entrance to the boardwalk where they were out in the open and was probably holding her tongue – both physical and mental – with David to keep from telling people about it. Paul decided that it was time.

"Let's get moving," Paul said, clapping his hands together. "I don't know about you, but I want to get things done tonight. Party the night away! Woo!"

David looked annoyed while Faith looked mildly relieved. She mouthed "thank you" to him and proceeded to pull David onto the main boardwalk like Paul's words had sealed the decision. The others followed at their own pace. Marko glanced at Paul before leaving and elbowed him.

"Go get 'em, Tiger," he laughed before bouncing away.

Paul laughed and moved through the crowd. He bumped purposefully into a few people and took their wallets, looting them for whatever he wanted. A snort passed through his lips when he found a condom in one of them that he doubted would fit on the guy that he took it from. He tossed it over his shoulder and continued on his way. A vampire to his right caught his attention and Paul grabbed him by his arm.

"Hey buddy," he said, putting a dark look on his face. "Remember the rules. Hands off of the red princess. Hands off the gypsy. How about this? Hands off everything pretty here?" He laughed. "That means no touchy anything including us. Got it?"

The vampire sneered. "You don't scare me."

"That's because you haven't seen me angry yet," Paul told him with a broad smile. "But trust me, you don't want to see any of us angry. So fuck off and be a good leech."

Paul let the vampire go and moved on, knowing exactly where he was going for the night. He just hoped that he wouldn't have to protect his Sisters tonight.

OOOOOOOOO

Jessi moved around the record shop, putting new records into place and tried to ignore Toni talking about inventory and other employees, records and management details. She didn't care about that stuff really unless it seriously affected her job and then she did something about it. Toni leaned over the counter next to the register that he was manning in her stead for the moment.

"So, business aside," he began with a grin. "How was that date with Paul?"

Jessi shook her head. "It wasn't really a date considering we're not dating."

"Sounded like he asked you out, Jessi."

"He kidnapped me and you just let him, Toni. That's not a very good boss like quality of yours." She dropped her empty box next to the counter and glared at him. "You can't just let random customers kidnap your employees because you think they need a night of fun."

"I think he's a good match for you," Toni admitted, shrugging his shoulders. "He looks rather like a rockstar –"

"He looks like he's up to no good and hasn't grown up since he was a kid," Jessi countered.

"So he's fun," Toni lifted an eyebrow. "You could use some fun in your life. Someone to lift you up and make you smile again. Ever since you moved, you haven't been smiling as much."

Jessi stared at him. "You're nosy."

"I'm observant. As a good boss should be. What's been going on, Jessi? What took that smile away? Is there something I should know about? Something that I can help with?"

_Only if you know a way to get rid of three bodies that can't be killed…_Jessi thought bitterly before shaking her head. "Nope, just roommates not clicking well with me. They click better with Jack, but hey, they're his bandmates and male. You men are weird." She shrugged. "I guess live and learn."

Toni didn't look like he quite believed her, but what could Jessi tell him? That her brother's bandmates were part of something much worse than humanity and that they were constantly offering her something that she didn't want any part in? That she wanted out of that house and far from Santa Carla so she could be sane and safe with her brother? All of it would raise a few eyebrows and red flags and get her sent to the loony bin for sure.

_It's best to keep silent about it until we have an escape plan in place_, Jessi told herself, moving around the front of the counter to look her boss in the eye. _Who knows what Lester and the others are capable of if they think their secret is threatened? Who am I kidding? I know exactly what they're capable of…_

"Toni, look, I'm fine. I've just hit a rough spot. I need to do some relaxing in my shower more and try to I don't know, write more songs. Play my guitar. Find my inner peace. I'll get back to smiling, but that doesn't mean you get me kidnapped."

"Even if I pay you for the time?" Toni asked.

"No pay for the time," Jessi said, shaking her head. "I don't get kidnapped again."

"Who says you don't get kidnapped again, Beautiful?" Paul's voice floated to her ears as the bell over the door sounded and the wild blond skipped into the store.

Jessi grew warm at the nickname that he'd given her, but put her head down on her arms on the counter with a sigh. "Paul…"

"Toni, Toni, Toni," Paul sang, bounding over and bouncing on his toes. "Can I kidnap her again? Can I? Can I?"

Jessi lifted her head from her arms and glared at him. "Don't you have brothers or something to bug? Can't you hang out with them?"

Paul put his tongue in his cheek. "They're not as fun to bother as you."

"Oh joy," Jessi jerked her thumb in his direction as she looked at her boss. "See the shit I deal with?"

Toni reached under the counter and grabbed her jacket, tossing it to her. "Make sure she gets home at a reasonable time, Paul. Jack will eat my head for breakfast if she doesn't get her beauty sleep."

Jessi stared at her boss in surprise as she held her jacket against her chest. She turned to Paul. "You see the fucking shit I put up with?"

Paul smirked and crooked his finger at her. "Come play with old Paul, Beautiful," he crooned, backing up slowly towards the door. "We've got another night together."

Jessi groaned and slid her jacket on as she followed the Lost Boy out of the record shop. She didn't want to admit, she was excited to see what this wild blond had in store for her tonight. And to him, she never would.

**OOOOOOOOOO**

**A/N: I hope you enjoyed this little bit that I could give you. I'm slowly easing myself back into working on my longer stories. I've only been working on one-shots lately and I feel bad for abandoning these ones. Please leave a comment if you would like to. Thank you and have a wonderful evening. -Scarlet**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Updates are short. I apologize.**

**OOOOOOOOOOO**

Paul watched Jessi as she swayed to the music at the concert portion of the boardwalk. She looked like she was enjoying herself as she listened to the band playing. He thought only the singer was worth shit. The rest, meh. Jessi looked at him and he smiled at her as she moved closer to him.

"That's my brother's band," she said, her gaze flitting in their direction. "The one up front is my brother." She rolled her eyes as the lead guitarist went wild on his guitar. "The rest are asses."

Paul smirked. "I couldn't tell with the way that they were trying to hog the attention."

Jessi put her hand on his shoulder and pressed closer to him as people squeezed by, moving her body to the rhythm and stirring something in Paul. "He'd be better off with a different band, but they kind of…leech onto him, if you know what I mean."

The wild blond's eyes held hers as he slipped his hands down to her hips, holding her close. "I think I do. They mooch off his talent?"

_**That's not what she means…**_

_Shut up…I can smell them on her. And you're the one that says that I can't tell anyone about our kind. So forgive me for not being blunt. _Paul winced inwardly when David snarled. _Shouldn't you be paying attention to Faith?_

_**I need you to watch her. The others and I have something that needs to be done.**_

Paul didn't get a chance to argue before all the voices in his head fled. He suddenly spotted Faith on the fringe of the crowd, looking annoyed and lost. He beckoned her forward behind Jessi's back and she hesitated before slipping towards them. As much as he wanted to have more moments alone with this lovely blonde, his Sister was important to him and he was going to keep an eye on her.

"Paul," Faith said, coming to an arm's length distance away from him. "Sorry to bug you and…this must be Jessi?"

Paul nodded and bounced on the balls of his feet. "Yep! This is Jessi, the second most wonderful girl in the world after you Sis."

Faith rolled her eyes and looked at Jessi, who for a reason that bewildered Paul, had stopped dancing. "Hey Jessi, I'm Faith."

OOOOOOOOOOOO

_There's no way this person is real_, Jessi thought, staring at Faith in awe. _She's like…perfect. Fire and porcelain with a hint of rain. And she's Paul's sister? No fucking way._

"I'm…I'm Jessi," Jessi stammered, gripping onto Paul's jacket for support.

Faith smiled. "I know. I've been wanting to meet you since I found out that you stole my brother's attention from us. Iona and I are so happy that he's finally found someone to keep his attention the way that you do and spoil." She looked at Paul. "Don't follow David's footsteps and be an ass about things."

"Me? Be an ass?" Paul asked, putting a hand to his chest like he had been offended. "Jessi, have I been an ass yet?"

"You've made an ass of yourself, does that count?" Jessi shot back, looking up at him.

Paul clutched his chest and stumbled back. "Help! Medic! Doctor! I've been wounded by two gorgeous women! I shall never recover!"

Faith rolled her eyes. "You'll live."

The blond blinked his eyes. "Do I see darkness closing in?" He stumbled forward like a drunken man. "No. I see a light. It's the angels coming to take me away." He fell to his knees and reached out. "I'm coming angels!"

Jessi nudged him with the toe of her boot as he fell on his face at her feet and lay there like a log. "Very funny, Drama Queen." She looked over at Faith. "Do you want to get some ice cream?"

"Make it iced coffee and we have a plan," Faith said with a smile. She shoved her hands into the pockets of her leather jacket. "Have you eaten yet?"

"Not yet," Jessi said, stepping over Paul and walking next to the redhead. "I was supposed to go get something during my lunchbreak before Paul rudely kidnapped me from my work."

"We'll fix that before we get iced coffees," Faith decided, nodding her head. "My treat." She looked out at the world with all seeing gray eyes. "So, you work at the record shop?"

"Yeah, it's not much but it's something."

"I can't judge. I never had a job before I moved here," Faith admitted. "I just graduated from school, went on vacation, and decided to give up my life to move here." She smiled slightly. "It was the best decision of my life."

"Santa Carla was the best decision of your life?" Jessi asked, looking at her in surprise. "The Murder Capitol of the world?"

"Strange, isn't it? But this is home."

"To each their own." Jessi shoved her hands into the pockets of her denim jacket. "I want to get as far away from here as possible when I get the chance."

"You do?" Faith sounded surprised and almost a little hurt.

Jessi nodded and looked out at the tourists that they were passing on the boardwalk, hearing Paul's running feet on the boards behind them. "I just…I've lived here for all my life and it hasn't gotten any better. I lost my parents. It's just me and my brother and we're living with people that…that aren't the best kind of people to live with. It's becoming more and more dangerous for us to be in this city and I don't know if I can make it another year."

"You can," Paul laughed, though it sounded almost forced, awkward. "What's going to get you? The Boogie Man?"

"Maybe," Jessi said, thinking back to what she lived with.

Faith reached out and put her hand on Jessi's arm. It was cool to the touch, even through the jacket, but soothing. "Jessi, as long as I'm alive, nothing is going to happen to you, or your brother. Nothing really big and devastating. I'm going to do my best with my small family to protect your small family from whatever thinks can hurt it, okay?"

Jessi's dark eyes met Faith's gray eyes and she felt like a peace came over her. Faith meant what she said. There was power in her words. There was something backing up everything that the redhead had said to her. That promise meant something to Faith, she wanted it to mean something to Jessi. And Jessi wanted to wholeheartedly believe that this redhead that gave off such a perfect image would be honest and fulfilling.

"Just don't give up on us and this place, Jessi," Paul said, resting his chin on her shoulder and giving her puppy dog eyes from the side. "Because we don't want to leave. And I don't want you to leave. Who would I take on random kidnappings then?"

Jessi bumped her hips backwards to throw him off. "Your loss."

"Jessi!" Paul pouted, coming right back.

"I'm not going anywhere yet, Paul, you dork," Jessi told him, turning around and walking backwards so she could look at him. "I don't have the money to leave Santa Carla and I don't have a ride. Without those two things, I can't make it far from here. So, you get to keep me."

Faith put her face in her hand. "Don't tell him that."

"What? Why?" Jessi asked, confused.

"Mine!" Paul exclaimed, grabbing the blonde and throwing her over his shoulder. "All mine! Woo!"

Jessi realized the error of her ways as Paul carried her down the boardwalk, singing "mine", and started fighting with him and the realization that she liked this crazy family.

OOOOOOOOOOO

Faith looked sad as she watched Paul say goodbye to Jessi with a sweet kiss to the forehead and a small jig. Paul skipped over to her and cupped her chin, a big smile on his face.

"C'mon Princess, smile," he said, eyes dancing. "You'll see her again."

"I hope you know what you're getting yourself mixed up in, Paul," Faith whispered, her bottom lip trembling. "She's…she's already mixed in the world of vampires…and they're not us…they're not friendly with us…and…" She closed her eyes and took a shaky breath, her eyes wet but determined when she looked at him again. "…I meant what I said. I'm going to keep her safe."

Paul looked at her with soft eyes. "I understand, Sis. But you've got to take care of yourself too. Leave the squabbles between the vampires to the big boys. We've got this handled."

Faith stuck her chin out defiantly. "I can fight. Iona can too."

"I know, but let us take care of the battles, okay?" He jerked his thumb over his shoulder. "I wouldn't even let her fight if she was part of the gang and you know, she ain't. Yet. And then I'd have to break in my other girls. And ugh, the nightmares."

Not even that brought a smile to Faith's face. "You do realize, she's your one," Faith told him, looking him straight in the eye.

Paul shook his head. "I can't see that."

"You will," Faith said, patting his cheek. "Once you stop focusing on me so much." She started walking away. "Once you all stop focusing on me so much, you'll see a lot of things."

_What's that supposed to mean? _Paul wondered, watching his Sister.

_**I don't know, but keep close to her and get back to us. We're done with our business. It's time to do some late night hunting. **_

_**We get to eat, Paul! Maybe that'll bring Faith's spirits back up?**_

_Maybe! _ Paul hurried after Faith and tapped her on the ass. _And yep, I totally did that Davie! So ha!_

**OOOOOOOOOO**

**A/N: Thank you for reading. -Scarlet**


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